The Independent Pokémon Who Don't Need No Trainer
by Hot Blooded Hero
Summary: Pikachu was always the mascot, the partner, and the sidekick. What if he actually were the main character, on his own journey to become the very best there ever was? [Anime AU]
1. Change of Fate

On an island in the country of Japan, there exists a small region called Kanto. Kanto is home to a fraction of the variety of creatures that inhabit the planet known as Pokémon. In this region, there are some Pokémon that are regarded by most as sacred, or even detrimental to the balance and order of the planet, called Legendaries. What most people don't know, however, is that the world doesn't always lie at their whim, and that they may call on a human, or even the smallest of common Pokémon, to aid them.

We begin with one of those Pokémon, though his fate was not always laid out as so. His fate is known to many as the partner, the companion. This story takes a different path...

* * *

On the outskirts of a city known to most as Viridian, a young Pichu struggled restlessly with his makeshift bed as he failed his attempt to find sleep. The Pichu lived alone in his small part of the woods, as he had no known family left. He would rather not dwell on their whereabouts, but his night terrors persisted in reminding him that he was on his own. This time the terrors came before his eyes could even rest, leaving himself to suffer another sleepless night. He eventually stopped trying and simply laid there still, facing upwards and staring past the canopy of the trees to the stars. Sadly, they did not distract him from his situation, as his momma would always tell him to look to the stars if he ever found himself lost.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he promptly shut them. He thought he had cried enough. The Pikachus always told him never to cry. He just didn't understand it, though. His parents, they were taken away. Taken away by some... dumb humans! For no reason! Why would they take away his momma and papa?! It was cruel! It was evil!

He opened his eyes. Maybe that's what humans were! All humans! All of them were just cruel and evi-

At this point, fate unraveled...

The Pichu's ear twitched in mid-thought, distracting him from his anger and piquing his curiosity. There was a sound that came from the South, like a muffled 'boom'. He looked to the South, but found no aftermath or even a sign of an explosion of any sort. His natural wild instincts screamed in his mind, telling him to run as far away from the danger, yet his childlike curiosity won out in favor of finding out what the source of the mysterious explosion was. He figured that he wasn't getting any sleep anyway, so he might as well...

The Pichu got out of his bed of grass and wandered South, still remembering the caution to watch out for any other lingering wild Pokemon. After several moments of walking, another sound came from the direction he was heading, this time it was a very low-pitched ' **whomp!** ' He had to be very close with how loud it was.

The sound, however, brought him out of his curious trance, and as he kept walking, he noticed just how dark the woods surrounding him were. The shadows behind the trees glared at him menacingly, daring him to reveal his fear and weakness. He could almost hear them growling a deep, predatory rumble at his presence, and their cold stares reinforced that illusion.

He shivered and cowered but kept soldiering on as he hung onto the thought that he was getting closer to the source. The fear was strong, though, as he couldn't keep the tears from coming down his face once more.

The woods' soul-crushing coldness soon took its toll on the child's mind, and the Pichu began to sprint, bawling a fearful cry of "Piiiiiiiiiiii!" as he ran. The woods appeared as if they were closing in upon him, maws wide open as they fall upon their prey...

Pichu's cries were interrupted abruptly as he tripped on a root protruding from the ground and tumbled through a line of bushes into open grass, leaving him dazed and disoriented. He took a few moments to wait for the sky to stop spinning before he noticed light coming in from beyond his vision. He shifted his head to see a building that stood only a few feet away, shining a warm yellowish-orange from the nearest window.

The Pichu no longer felt the cold of the woods behind him. There was now only the comforting feeling of the summer air that filled the night. The light from the building seemed to beckon him closer with its warmth, inviting him to look inside and see what the building had to offer, and he could only gladly comply.

The window was only two feet off the ground and had a ledge that jutted out enough for him to stand on. He leaped up to the ledge, managing to catch himself on the ledge and pull himself up. He looked back down to the ground, and only then did he realise that he had jumped his own height from a standing position, a feat that impressed himself. He turned back around to the window, and his eyes widened as he saw the interior.

The inside of the building was simply a massive room with an impressive amount of space in the middle. Most of the floor was cracked, dry earth, made somehow significant with the white markings of ordered lines, circles and rectangles. That was only the first thing he noticed. Also in the room were two very large Pokémon bashing heads and grappling each other in the center of the room, one being what he recognized as a Nidoking, from what he could remember of his mother's descriptions, and the other being a massive orange dragon-beast with a raging fire on its tail. He could only recognize their fighting as a battle for dominance, and yet... they had something else in their movements. It was almost like an awareness. A strategy.

"C'mon, Charizard! I know you can find an opening!"

Pichu turned his attention to the voice: a human! What stupid human would stand so close to these clashing behemoths?! Momma always said that doing so meant you were impeding on _both_ of their territories! Did he want to die?!

But when the Charizard glanced back, he did not stop and rage. The Charizard only acknowledged the human by nodding and continued the struggle with his opponent, seeming even more determined than before to put down the Nidoking and claim what was his. Pichu gaped in amazement as new questions arose in his mind, too fast for coherency. For some reason, the dragon actually appeared to be _listening to the human_. He couldn't fathom why such powerful Pokémon would choose to fight under their command!

Eventually, the Charizard did find an opening. As Nidoking tried to shuffle into a better position, Charizard shifted more weight in his direction, causing the Nidoking to fail his balance and fall back. Charizard immediately took advantage, adjusting his hold and locking in his opponent. He took flight and lifted Nidoking with him, rising swiftly and steadily despite the Nidoking struggling.

The human he noticed called out to the dragon. "Yes! That's it! Get as high as you can!"

The Charizard kept rising until he nearly reached the ceiling. He then stopped, waiting patiently for the human's next command.

Pichu also waited with bated breath.

The human then grinned. "Now! Sky Drop!"

Charizard promptly released his hold, letting the other Pokémon fall to an inevitably messy-

The Nidoking then disappeared in a flash of red light, accompanied by a sound not unlike the sheathing of a sword.

On the far end of what could've been considered Nidoking's half of the room stood another human, this one taller and, Pichu supposed, scarier. His presence gave the impression that he owned the room, literally and figuratively. In his hand was a red and white ball-like device, glowing red on its small button.

Pichu officially decided that his view of what was possible needed to be adjusted if that thing was holding the Nidoking.

The taller human grinned towards the shorter one. It was a bit unsettling, but then he spoke. "Congratulations. You've beaten me."

It was said with such ice that it almost felt like the window grew colder.

"You've beaten me, but only by _so much_ ," he said as he raised one of his hands with his finger and thumb barely apart from each other. "And I'm afraid that won't amount to much once you get to Victory Road." He closed his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle. "The way I see it, you might as well just take your winnings and go home, maybe start an apricorn farm and sell homemade Pokéballs to passing trainers, hm?"

The shorter human looked down, shaking in what must have been rage.

Taller chuckled again. "I see I've struck a nerve. Please leave my gym." He then dropped something shiny to the floor and turned to walk away.

Pichu couldn't believe the gall of this human! He had half a mind to walk in there himself and-

"HA!" came a shout from the shorter human. "If I was so easy to put down like that, then I would've given up when I failed my first gym." He looked up, revealing the smirk on his face. "But I didn't. Getting this far should prove that I don't quit easily."

The taller man turned back to face him, this time with a full smile on his face. "Somehow, I'm no longer surprised when all of my victors say the same thing." He strode back over to the object he dropped, and somehow managed to kick it back up into his hand. He looked it over and gave it a quick shine with his sleeve. "But I'm not any less disappointed when the lesson gets through." He approached the shorter human and placed the object into his hands with a steady and firm shake. "You have an ambition. One you can follow to the ends of the earth to achieve. It's not enough to simply be good at something. What makes us is our drive to pull through, no matter what odds stand in our way. We are humans with the power to achieve what many deem unachievable, and it is our drive to grasp at our desires that make us. Our drives to be the best."

And at that moment, Pichu's fate was secured. Time stopped for the young Pokémon, and he found his new purpose, one he felt absolutely determined to fulfill. He wanted to be what all these humans have a chance to be. He wanted to put himself on their level and show to the world that what made him was his own drive to be the best. The very best there ever was.

* * *

In another place, quite a ways from the region of Kanto, the walls within the Hall of Origin _changed_...

* * *

[Please criticise constructively. I may not know if I've missed anything.]

[This idea came about as a combination of many of inspirations taken from several of Saphroneth's stories, and even a little bit of 1KidsEntertainment's PokeAbriged, mixed with some contemplation of how Pikachu's character relies a great deal on him being Ash's companion, and really it's all based on his loyalty to him as a good friend. I wondered how I could flesh out such a potential character without the dependency holding him back.

And so we come to this.

If it wasn't obvious, Pikachu (or Pichu, at the moment) wants to be the very best, and while he doesn't quite know it yet, the best way to do that is by challenging the league. So, he'll do that. Pikachu himself will come across at least five other Pokémon (some old, some new) to befriend and challenge the league with as, not a trainer, but independent Pokémon on equal ground.

Some basic elements will seem like I've ripped them straight from other stories, but I hadn't read them prior to conceptualizing this, and I plan on implementing them as uniquely as possible. There'll definitely be some surprising and entertaining reveals, I assure you. Thank you.]


	2. Welcome to Society

The next morning saw the young Pichu back at his nest, performing several exercises (or at least mocking the movements of exercises) in preparation for his big day. He would constantly run back and forth in circles around his little grassy area, stopping randomly to shadow-box, do jumping-jacks, or drop and do pushups. Exhaustion was rarely evident in his movements, and sweat was sparse on his brow. He felt like he wouldn't tire, so driven by his new goal that he had energy to spare. With that energy, he thought to train up as much as he could, as fast as he could in order to start his journey later that day. It wasn't until his stomach let out a loud rumble that he finally paused for a food break.

He sat down with a nice, plump oran berry he found in a bush just a short ways away. As he ate the juicy fruit, he fantasized through his plan once more, a plan that was certainly a product of ingenious thought and strategy.

 _He saw himself kicking down the doors of the large building he scouted out the night before, a leafy bandanna wrapped around his head and a set look of determination on his face._

 _"I've arrived!" he would announce, assuming anyone would be able to understand him. "Where is the taller human?"_

 _The human would already be standing there, and a look of surprise would cross his face for a few fleeting moments before he'd regain composure and smirk. "Ah, Pichu. I had been expecting you. You know it is your destiny to challenge and defeat me." He would then take a fighting stance, performing several flashy-looking katas. "But don't expect this to be an easy fight!"_

 _"Ha ha!" Pichu would laugh. "It wouldn't be a_ _**challenge**_ _if it was!" He would also take a stance, and perform even flashier katas. "But enough talk! Let's fight!"_

 _"Not yet," the human would say. "Not only will you face me..." Behind him, red light would flash. "You will face all of us!"_

 _Standing behind him would presumably be all six of his Nidokings, all wearing ninja outfits and staring him down with anticipation._

 _Pichu would stare them all down with fire in his eyes, immediately breaking their brave facades and leaving them trembling._

 _He would then open his mouth to let out a mighty battle cry as he jumped into battle._

 _Pow!_

 _Smack!_

 _Kerbonk!_

 _Eventually it would end with him on top of a pile of defeated Nidokings, their leader kneeling with his head hung before the sight of his awesome power._

 _He would beg for mercy from Pichu, hoping to be spared from his wrath, and Pichu would grant such mercy, cuz he was cool like that._

 _But only in exchange for information on how he would challenge the rest of the humans._

The plan was surefire and bulletproof, and he was raring to go an execute it. He stood up with his belly filled and his sights high. No one was going to stop Pichu from fulfilling his destiny, especially not on this day! So he set off South, towards the building, and prepared to prove himself.

* * *

Pichu did manage to find the building, at which he then followed the wall around to the front side and reeled at sheer size of the city he found himself in.

Ahead were buildings nearly 10 to 20 times the size of the building he was standing next to, and he marveled at how anyone would be able to create such massive structures. They looked to be taller than any Onix or Gyarados he had ever seen! Taller than waterfalls, even! Their stature boggled his mind, completely throwing him off of his earlier confidence, but didn't quite distract him from what he was going to do.

Pichu shook his head and turned back to the door. Right! Time for his entrance!

He lifted his foot, tensing with power behind it, and thrust it forward... only to hit empty air. He lost his balance and fell onto the building's tiled floor. He looked back and noticed the door _sliding_ closed. _Automatically_. Such a marvel it was to the young Pokémon that he had not even noticed the approaching human behind him.

"Hello, little one."

Pichu jumped and accidentally shocked himself a bit at the scare. It was a minor spark, but his fur was already starting to stand on end. He turned around to see the tall human from last night. Remembering himself, he stood up and announced, _"I'm here!"_

Of course, the human only heard the Pichu call its species' name, and he responded with, "Indeed, you are."

The Pichu took his tone as almost dismissive and a small offense to his pride. He pointed a paw to him and posed. _"I challenge you, human, to a battle!"  
_  
The human seemed to ignore him, only examining him with a stare and a quiet hum of intrigue.

Pichu held his pose for a while as the human stared, slowly growing more awkward as the seconds rolled by. After a few moments he retracted his paw and pose and simply stared at him back.

More silence between them passed before the human suddenly spoke. "Unfortunately, this gym doesn't handle Electric types. I'm afraid you're unable to join us." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "We do, however, have openings for Team Rocket at the moment. We can include you as a recruit Pokémon if you'd like."

The Pichu tilted his head in confusion. Was he stupid? He said he wanted a battle, not a job! "Chu!" He shook his head. He beat an open paw with a fist and pointed to him again. _"I said I want to fight you! So let's fight!"  
_  
The human's face lit up slightly in understanding. "Ah, you wish to _challenge_ the gym." Then he paused for a second to process the statement. A humored grin filled his face and he let out a deep laugh. "Ha! Haha! If that isn't just the funniest thing I've ever witnessed." He chuckled as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You are not a trainer. It would not only be unethical, but also a waste of my time. I don't want to have to be responsible for an unconscious wild Pichu who bit off more than he could chew." He looked to the Pichu. "I have other appointments today. Maybe if you were a Raichu, or had a few friends with you, then I might have accepted your challenge, but at the moment, you are just too young, too weak, and unprepared." He turned away to head back to his office.

Pichu felt thoroughly insulted and nearly simmered with rage. _"You think I'm weak? You won't even give me a chance?! I'll show you weak!"_ His cheeks sparked with anger as he prepared to let loose a Thunder Shock. The static built up in his pouches, dancing over his fur furiously. He let out low growl that built with his static. "Piiiiiiiiiiiii **iiiiiiiiiii-!** "

Then all of the static discharged throughout Pichu's body, shocking himself with an amount of electricity similar to a high-powered taser. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Giovanni turned back again and noticed the Pichu lying there with the floor surrounding him burnt black. He sighed heavily through his nostrils.

He reached into his suit's inside pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen. He quickly scribbled a note describing the situation and tore it from the pad. He put the pad and pen away and brought out a Pokéball, releasing his Golem. He gave Golem the note. "Please take this and that Pichu over there to the Pokémon Center. Give both of them to Nurse Joy. You remember where it is?"

Golem saluted. "Golem!"

"Good. I will be busy for the next few hours, so if you finish quickly then you can play in the nearby park until four. Understand?"

Golem nodded happily.

Giovanni grinned. "Go then, Golem. I don't need to keep you waiting."

The Golem took the note with his mouth, then went over and picked up Pichu, treating him with care as though he were a fragile package, and went out the door.

Giovanni went back to his office.

* * *

The Pokémon Center wasn't too far from the gym, and the walk was uneventful. As the door to the facility slid open, the Nurse Joy at the counter immediately noticed the Golem carrying the injured Pichu and rushed over to aid him. "What happened?"

The Golem gestured to the note in his mouth, which she promptly took and read over. A Chansey came over and took the Pichu from Golem's arms, transferring him to a small hospital bed and wheeling him into the back.

Nurse Joy smiled at the message. "He's always had a soft spot for the younger Pokémon." She walked back behind the counter and gestured Golem to follow. She rummaged through her wallet and brought out a few Pokédollars. "Here you go, Golem. I believe the ice cream man has set up shop by the park today, so get yourself something sweet."

Golem gave a small cheer and thanked the nurse before rushing out the door. It was a good day for Golem.

Joy could only bring a hand to her mouth as she giggled at his excitement. His childlike enthusiasm was near infectious! Speaking of which, she had Pokémon to take care of! With that thought, she rushed back to administer care to the injured Pichu.

* * *

Hours later, as the sunset's light shone on his face, Pichu's eyes opened slowly, gradually coming back to the land of the living. He sat up to rub the sleep left in his eyes, but quickly noticed the aching all throughout his body. _"Ah-! Owie owie ouch!"_ He slowly lowered back to his lying position and tried to remember what he was doing before he fell asleep.

 _The gym? ...Ah, man, did I lose?  
_  
He did, and quite embarrassingly as he recalled. Shame filled his face as the humility hit him at full force. His frustration burned deep in his cheeks, sparking himself with static that further dampened his mood.

 _He was right. I am weak. I can't even shock three feet in front of me._ He clenched a paw. _But I'll get better. I'll train harder than any other Pokémon has ever trained before._ _All of the humans will know my name by heart, and the day will come when the world acknowledges me as... as..._

As what? What would they call such victors of all battles? Kings? Elites? Champions? Maybe...

But there has to be something that feels like... more! Something that rolls off the tongue and feels like something really worth fighting for! Something like...

A master...

He raised his fist into the air. _A master! Yes! A master Pokémon! A master_ of all _Pokémon!_

A Pokémon Master!

He managed to sit up without wincing at the pain, his fist still raised.

 _"I swear on it! Or my name isn't-"_ "Pichu!"

The door to the room he was in opened as an alarmed Chansey and a human in white entered, having heard his cries. They were relieved but concerned to find him posing the way he was. He had noticed them come in, but his pride let him hold his pose for a moment longer before he turned his attention to them. _"Where am I?"  
_  
The Chansey waved the human out, and she respectfully nodded and left the room. Chansey turned to Pichu and said, _"You're in a Pokémon Center. Do you remember why you're here?"  
_  
Pichu nodded, scratching his head sheepishly. _"Yeah, I do. Did you, uh, hear about it."  
_  
The nurse Pokémon nodded and gave him a stern look. _"I'd like to ask why you did something like that, but I suppose it's understandable given your age, as long as you know that you shouldn't do it again."_ She approached him and and patted his arm slightly in a comforting gesture. _"Pichus can easily hurt themselves with so much unrestrained electricity. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with that until you've evolved?"  
_  
Pichu looked away, wounds still fresh.

Chansey suddenly felt an awkward pressure permeate the room, and she stepped away. _"Oh, I'm sorry. Was it recen-"_ She shook her head. _"No, sorry, I shouldn't ask that. It's your business."_ She was silent for a few moments, hoping to let the pressure pass. _"But... Why did you go and challenge the gym? You're not a trainer, or even human. You don't even belong to anyone. What compelled you to just ask for a fight?"  
_  
The mouse looked back to her, genuinely confused. _"Why not? Everyone else can. I saw someone go in last night and use a... Charizard, was it? A Charizard to beat that human's Nidoking. I thought that if any human can just go in and do it, why can't I?"  
_  
Chansey didn't know whether to shake her head or laugh, or both. It seemed a little sad, but ridiculous at the same time. She settled for a sigh. _"Do you not understand how the League works?"  
_  
He tilted his head. _"League?"  
_  
Chansey's eyes widened. _"Oh, you must have been young, wild, and sheltered! It's not often that a human or a Pokémon haven't heard of the Pokémon League."_ She began to look around for something before stopping herself to ask, _"Er, do you know how to read human script?"  
_  
Pichu shook his head. _"What's 'reading'?"  
_  
She sighed again. _I should've left Joy to this,_ she thought to herself, _but then I guess he wouldn't really have gotten the help he wanted._ She shrugged, then pulled up a chair from a corner of the room to the bed. Chansey hopped up into the chair and settled in, before wondering exactly how to go about explaining it. She breathed in.

Chansey then explained to great lengths to the young Pokémon about the Pokémon League, its massive role in the government, and its responsibility for all Pokémon-related organizations. They were the central power for scientific research and exploration, as well as the major battling challenges and contests. It took the better part of an hour to get most of this information across, since Pichu had nearly no education whatsoever and had to interject every two words with a question. Chansey was patient, though, and managed to explain everything clearly.

 _"So, how can I get in?"_ Pichu asked as she finished.

 _"Oh, well, I don't know if you can,"_ Chansey replied. _"I suppose if you go to our local Professor Oak, then he might give you up to a trainer-"_

"No!"

Pichu interrupted. _"I don't want a trainer! I don't_ need _a trainer!"_ He calmed down a little at the look Chansey was giving him. _"Sorry, I mean... I saw how the Pokémon fought with trainers. They were so cool and all, but they fought like they were_ told _to._ _I want to be the one who fights for myself at their level. I want them to know_ me, _not some human standing behind me."_ He fidgeted with his bed covers a bit. _"I realized that when I started rooting for the trainer, not the Charizard doing the fighting. I don't want my battles to be like that."  
_  
Chansey nodded, not quite agreeing, but understanding where his viewpoint came from. Then a thought came to her. _Maybe his parents..._ She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask, though. She didn't want to pry.

She shook her head. His stated reason was just as valid, if not more so than backlashing at humans for catching his parents.

Chansey stood from her chair and pulled out a notepad and pen from the bedside table next to her. She turned to Pichu and said, _"What would you like to tell Professor Oak?"_

 _"What?"_ He said, confused.

The nurse Pokémon held up her pen. _"I'm writing a message to Professor Oak about you. What do you want to say?"  
_  
His eyes widened. _"You can do that?"  
_  
She nodded.

He looked up in thought. _"Well..."_ His face brightened with a smile that Chansey realized she hadn't actually seen on the Pokémon's face yet. Pichus looked better when they smiled, she decided. _"I got it! Write this down..."_

 _Dear Professor Oak,_

 _I am a Pichu in the Pokémon Center of Viridian City, asking for your help._

 _I've lived in the forest for all my life, and yesterday I found the city for the first time. The first building I saw was something called a "gym" where Pokémon fought each other for a bigger thing called the Pokémon League. I've never wanted anything before, but I realized that this was something I really wanted to do._

 _I tried challenging the gym's human, but... that's kinda how I got to the Pokémon Center. They tell me that I'm too young and that I need a trainer. I can understand why I'm too young, but I don't want a trainer. Trainers get the credit for the fighting that the Pokémon does, and I don't want my battles to be like that. I want to be equal with the humans, and I want to challenge the League._

 _I was hoping that you could help me find a way to do this._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Pichu_

* * *

Samuel Oak put down the letter that was just faxed to him. His face was slapped with a childish grin that wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"Today's the day!" He exclaimed, holding the message up in both hands. He took a piece of paper from the fax machine and a pen from his lab coat before hurriedly scribbling down a short message. He put the message in the scanner, thumbed the fax number and hit "send". Before it could finish scanning, he was already out the door.

 _Dear Pichu,_

 _Stay put. I'll be there soon._

 _Professor Samuel Oak_

* * *

[I believe Oak's behavior is completely warranted if you know the canon.]


	3. The Professor

Pichu was understandably quite confused at just how the letter was sent. Chansey had to hold him back from attacking the human nurse when she fed his heartfelt message into a noisy white box, and explain how it sent the letter to another box the Professor had where he lived. All the way in another town, they said! How could a simple box do that?! Judging by the noise, it probably wasn't that simple, but it still boggled the mind.

He began to wonder just how different his life would have been if his family had lived among humans. Or possibly if they lived like humans, where they had their own nests in one of the city buildings and owned such wondrous machines, then how much more well off would he have been? Why didn't all Pokémon live like the humans did, rather than struggle so hard to survive in the wild? Do all Pokémon even know of the feats that these humans have accomplished? He knew that after his time spent in the care of this facility that he wouldn't want to return to the dark, cold, suppressing forest that filled him with fear, especially since he was alone.

Well, whatever reason compelled the rest of the Pokémon was lost on him, and he certainly didn't want to leave civilization so soon.

He was about to ask Chansey if he could stay for the night, when the white box started ringing. After the human nurse pressed something on it, a piece of paper came out. The human read it off out loud for Pichu to hear, as it was addressed to him.

Pichu was amazed by the quick response that the white box gave, as well as the Professor human's ability to respond. It also seemed that he would have to stay regardless, so Chansey took the initiative of issuing him a room to stay in once it got too late. The note said that the Professor was already on his way, so he decided to wait in the main lobby.

The lobby had a very welcoming atmosphere to it. The entrance was a clear glass sliding door surrounded by a window that made up most of the wall. It overlooked the rest of the city, and the sun was setting at an angle that gave it a beautiful orange glow. The sunset itself also shined through the windows, warming whatever the light touched. The air-conditioning balanced the heat enough to feel just right at a very comfortable temperature.

A smile formed on his face. It was definitely made for him to feel good there. He took a seat at one of the waiting couches that had coffee tables in front of them with old issues of magazines that patients usually found uninteresting. Pichu was curious, however, and picked up a magazine to flip through. On the cover, it had a human sitting with a Rattata, a Pidgey, and a Caterpie surrounding him. It took him five pages to realize that flipping through them was all he was doing. He still couldn't read. Pichu sighed, noting that if he wanted to live among humans, then he had to read like them, and probably write too.

He looked up from his magazine to see Chansey at the front counter rearranging pieces of paper, but not particularly invested in them. He called out to her, _"Hey, Chansey?"  
_  
She looked up from her work, her face visibly brightening.

Pichu scratched his neck. _"Uh, you aren't too busy, are you?"  
_  
She looked down at her papers, then shook her head and pushed them aside. _"Not really, no."  
_  
He looked at his magazine, squinting again at a futile attempt to make sense of it anyway. _"Well... I was hoping you could help me with... all this."_ He gestured to all of the magazines on the table.

Chansey raised an eyebrow. _"You mean reading?"  
_  
Pichu nodded enthusiastically. _"Yeah, I wanna learn how."  
_  
She smiled and hopped down from the stool that let her reach the countertop. _"Of course, I'll help you! It's easy once you get a feel for it."  
_  
He moved over to make room for her to sit. As she sat down, he asked, _"Is it hard to start?"  
_  
She shrugged. _"Ehhh, a little, I guess. I can't really picture it being so difficult now. It's like walking, or speaking. Could you even imagine not doing those things so easily?"  
_  
Pichu looked up in thought. _"I... Kinda? I don't know. Maybe it's like exercising, and if you're too lazy and don't do it for a while, then it'll be hard trying to do it again?"  
_  
Chansey laughed at his comparison. _"That's one way of looking at it! But, yeah, I see what you're getting at."_ She looked at the issue Pichu was holding. _"'Breeder's Digest'?"  
_  
Pichu turned it to the cover. _"Is that what this says? It looks like it has a lot more words than that!"  
_  
She shook her head. _"That's just what the bigger words say. The rest talk about what's inside the magazine. Specifically, this issue."  
_  
Pichu nodded and opened the magazine. He then asked her to read it out loud and point out the words, explaining ones he didn't understand as they went along. The process went at a snail's pace, but it was progress that killed time.

They were interrupted in the middle of the seventh page by the front door sliding open. Both of them drew their attention to the visitor.

A human wearing a white coat walked through the front door, his eyes scanning the room for something. His face looked set to be calm, almost anticipating something. As soon as his eyes met the two Pokémon in the room, his calm wavered, but only for a moment. He smiled and strode towards the two. "Hello there. You must be the Pichu who wrote to me." He held out a hand. "I am Professor Samuel Oak. You can call me Sam, if you like."

The Pichu tilted his head, a little confused with the human's behavior. Chansey got his attention and said a few things to him, then Pichu nodded in understanding and hopped onto the coffee table to shake the Professor's hand. _"Hi, Sam! I'm_ Pichu!"

Sam took a chair from beside their couch and moved it to face across the table at them. He sat down and began studying the young Pichu, his smile replaced with a look that implied scrutiny. The Pichu stared back, growing wary at the man's sudden silence. He then said, "Your letter said that you want to participate in the Pokémon League, but not with a trainer, just yourself."

Pichu nodded, determination coming back to his expression.

Professor Oak hummed in thought for a moment, trying to devise a solution for the young Pokémon's request. The trainer registration had a few requirements that Oak wasn't able to say if they applied to Pichu or not. He wasn't about to discourage Pichu, however, as he was the region's leading Professor and therefore was the authority on the region's trainer registration. He would help the young Pokémon by pulling a few strings in the system, but they would need a few things from the Pichu first.

Oak crossed his arms. "I'm afraid you can't do this alone. You are required, at the very least, to be registered as the trainer, meaning you may need other Pokémon to fight for you at times."

Pichu didn't immediately like that, and was about to protest, but the Professor raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm inferring that you wish not to be so hypocritical, as having other Pokémon fight for you would defeat the reason for why you're taking the challenge in the first place." He shifted his hands to his lap. "However, the paperwork is trivial in this case, if only because you have my help. We can register you as a trainer _and_ as your own starter. This includes registering your own Pokéball, both for official and security reasons. You wouldn't want to start your journey only for another trainer to catch you, would you?"

Pichu could only shake his head. The Professor seemed to have an air about him that exuded authority once he started lecturing. Pichu actually found it hard to respond, as if he would be interrupting, and that would be horrible.

Professor Oak folded his hands and leaned forward. "Another thing is that you need to learn how to efficiently communicate with humans. You'll need to learn how to read and write." He glanced down at the magazines on the table. "I assume that you two were actually working on that as I came in. That's good." He smirked. "You'll need it for all the paperwork."

For some reason, a chill went through Pichu.

The smirk left as if it were never there. "That being said, I believe you may benefit in learning one of the most important aspects of communication. You may have to learn how to _speak_ our language."

Chansey's eyes shot wide and she leaned further into her seat. Pichu blinked. _"What do you mean by that?"  
_  
The nurse Pokémon at his side turned to him. _"You... Hold on, what?"_ She sat up again. _"You mean you haven't noticed that they're speaking another language?"  
_  
Pichu looked at her as if she were crazy. _"We understand him, don't we?"  
_  
She shook her head. _"But he doesn't understand us. Have you not noticed that? Or even heard the differences in how we say words?"  
_  
Pichu looked away. _"Not really... I mean, I did, but I guess it never really came up since I thought we all understood each other. I didn't think it was important at anytime-"  
_  
The Professor coughed to bring their attention back to him. "As I said, it will do you good to learn how to speak in human tongue. Humans tend to treat Pokémon they understand with more... well, I don't intend to imply that humans lack respect towards Pokémon, but the ability to easily communicate with them will be a convenience in working with others."

Pichu nodded while Chansey wrote something down on a pamphlet and passed it to Professor Oak. He picked it up and read, _How does that even work? I've never heard of a Pokémon that could speak like humans do.  
_  
The man turned to the Chansey. "There are rare cases that have been documented, but never really looked into or studied." His gripped on the paper tensed slightly. "Why they _never did_ is beyond me, but it is observed as possible. I believe that if we work on this, then we may learn a lot more about Pokémon linguistics than we've ever had before. Hopefully we could create translators or other equipment that would improve communications and relations between humans and Pokémon." He turned back to Pichu. "We've really only been waiting for a Pokémon interested and willing to learn the language so that they may be able to help with my lab's research. This is why I ask that you learn the language, for your benefit as well as ours."

Pichu nodded without hesitation and with a smile. _"Of course, I will! Anything to help you since you're helping me."  
_  
Sam smiled back. "Now, this will mean that a lot of your time will be spent learning and studying these subjects. It may even be months before you are able to start your journey." Pichu was crestfallen at that. "It also means that you will have a lot of time to train and study the region in detail, so that you aren't just starting off blind. This all said, I think it will be to your best benefit that you come with me to live at my lab. It'll be much more convenient than going back and forth between Viridian and Pallet."

Pichu was hesitant. His expression turned thoughtful for a few moments, considering alternatives. He turned to Chansey for advice.

Chansey smiled and ruffled the fur on his head. _"You should go. It will be easier for you, and it's not like we can't visit each other."_ She giggled as Pichu pushed away her arm, a little embarrassed by the intrusion. _"But I'm glad you consider me a good enough friend to consider my thoughts."  
_  
Pichu paused, then looked down, hiding the sudden rush of emotions on his face as well as the tears. _"Yeah..."_ Pichu didn't really have any friends before. He was simply a child of the group, one who was abandoned when his parents' captures scattered them, leaving him alone. Chansey was so willing to help him learn, to teach him with such patience when he kept asking so many questions. Only a really good friend would be so caring.

He faced her with a look of joyful appreciation. _"You are a good friend! And, and you're my only friend, but I think that also makes you my best friend!"_ He suddenly rushed in to hug her fervently. Chansey was caught off guard for a moment, but returned the hug with a chuckle.

The two hugged for a time that wasn't overstayed nor too short. Both released the hug and Chansey said, _"I'll write to you as much as I can, best friend."  
_  
Pichu nodded enthusiastically. _"I will too! Er, when I can write, that is. It can't be that hard, can it?"  
_  
Chansey laughed. _"I'm sure if you keep that attitude up, you'll learn in no time."  
_  
The yellow mouse nodded again, then rubbed his neck sheepishly with a grin. _"I, uh, don't think I'll be using that room anymore."  
_  
Chansey laughed again. _"Don't worry about it. It'll always be there for you when you do need it."_

 _"Thank you,"_ Pichu said, and he hopped down from the couch and turned to Professor Oak. _"I think we're ready to go."_ He nodded to punctuate his acceptance.

Professor Oak stood from his chair. "Ready to leave now, I see? Alright then, my car is outside. We should get going before it's too dark." He turned to Chansey. "Give my regards to Miss Joy for me."

Pichu picked up the issue of 'Breeder's Digest' they had been reading before Oak arrived. _"Can I take this?"_ He asked Chansey.

 _"Sure thing! We have too many of them anyway,"_ She replied jokingly, despite knowing that Pichu might not get it.

 _"Thanks."_ He followed Oak to the front door before turning back and waving to Chansey. _"Bye, Chansey!"  
_  
She waved back. _"Bye, best friend!"_ She replied with a laugh.

The two walked out as the last of the sun fell past the horizon.


	4. Fluffy Eggs and Arceus's Gift to Mortals

Pichu fell asleep several minutes into the car ride. He was strapped into a booster seat on the passenger side of Professor Oak's two-seater, and as astonishing as the ride was at first, he was simply too tired to stay awake after the exhausting events of the day. He drifted off quietly as the gentle ride lulled him to sleep.

Sam noticed the young Pichu drifting away and smiled. The little Pokémon had such large ambitions that he carried, ones that he knew would come to fruition. He felt obliged to help for more reasons than he cared to admit, but if anyone were to ask him, his research would be a good excuse. That, and the Pichu could most definitely be considered cute enough to pull the 'Who Would Say No To This Face?' defense.

Oak felt confident that the young Pokémon would fulfill his dreams. He remembered a time when he was already well on his way...

He noticed a curve coming ahead and put his mind back on the road. Reminiscing could come later.

Under the moonlit night of the Viridian countryside, Pichu slept soundly.

* * *

The car's engine rumbled to a stop as the Professor pulled the keys from the ignition. He looked to the sleeping Pichu and debated whether or not he should be woken. He supposed that he should at least be shown to his bed. He tried to wake him gently with small prods. "Pichu? We're here."

Pichu's response was to yawn into a deeper sleep and turn away from the prodding.

Sam didn't have the heart to wake him then. Instead, he slowly unclipped the restraints and carefully picked him up from the seat, carrying him in a way that supported Pichu's head. He opened his car door and began cautiously making his way up the hillside staircase to his lab.

At the door, he unlocked and opened it as quietly as he could in an effort to avoid disturbing Pichu, and closed it likewise. He didn't bother turning on the light; he knew this building well enough to get around without it on. At first, he began heading to the Pokémon storage room, then remembered that Pichu wasn't registered to a ball yet.

He started searching around, not actually looking at anything, but really searching his thoughts for a solution. He after a moment, he paused. He supposed that it wouldn't be much of a problem if Pichu were placed in the guest room. No one ever used it anyway, as his grandchildren had their own rooms set up for their weekend visits. He thought it would suffice, and carried Pichu to the guest room to put him to bed.

* * *

Pichu's awakening that morning was eerily similar to yesterday's, as the sun creeped in to open his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. The events of the day before came to him quickly enough, however, and Pichu bounced out of bed with a morning energy that was common for young Pokémon.

The room was very plain, but had much more of a home-y feel than the hospital room did. Pichu stretched and yawned away the remaining strains of sleep, then he had a thought. Training! Yesterday's morning session was obviously nowhere near enough to getting as strong as he needed to be. He needed to step up his game and start training every morning!

As he did before, he worked himself into a flurrying fit of "exercises". He did small laps, jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups as fast as he could for five minutes before he felt himself break a sweat and called it good. He sat down against his bed panting, feeling very satisfied with himself. After a few moments of gathering his breath, he looked up towards the window and, a little curious, hopped up to the sill to see where he was.

Outside, he saw a quaint little town of humans and Pokémon getting up bright and early for their own daily routines. The humans greeted each other as they picked up rolls of paper and watered their lawns, some out on their own morning runs with their Pokémon. He watched them for a while with a rapt expression, studying their mannerisms and little interactions as they went about their activities.

They fascinated him. They were so friendly to each other without provocation! Everyone in this small town smiled at everyone else, greeting and waving and calling them by names, even though they weren't from the same packs. Then again, maybe the town was just one whole pack? He needed to study them further.

He turned to the door in his room. Wasn't that human a professor or something?

He hopped down from the sill and headed towards the door, jumping up to the door knob to open it.

* * *

Breakfast was a strange affair. The Professor said it might not be a good idea to eat with the others(?) for the moment, so he ate at the table in the dining room. He was given some brown chunky stuff in a bowl that tasted... okay. He wouldn't say that he preferred it, but he guessed it was alright for breakfast. He had to eat something.

Then the Professor sat down with _his_ food. It was a steamy bowl of white grain and a fluffy golden flesh. He set it down with a pair of metal utensils and a bottle of a red, viscous liquid. Pichu looked down at his brownish gunk, then back to the Professor's food. He pushed his bowl a bit away from him.

As the Professor sat down, he spoke up. "Pi, pichu pichu chu pi?" he asked as he pointed to the steaming bowl.

Sam looked down at his bowl. "This?" He pointed at it, looking back to Pichu. Pichu nodded. "Oh, it's just rice and eggs. It's a nice breakfast meal for humans." He then noticed the way Pichu was staring at it. "Would you like some? I thought you'd enjoy the Pokémon food."

Pichu looked at the bowl next to him and nudged it further away, scrunching up his face.

Sam chuckled. "Alright, I always make extra to save for lunch, but I suppose I could make that later. Let me fix you a bowl, and I'll take your food out to the others." He stood up and took Pichu's bowl before heading into the kitchen.

He came out a moment later with a different bowl for Pichu filled with the steaming food and another pair of utensils. Pichu nodded to him and affirmed his gratitude.

Oak sat back down with his food. "Enjoy," he said, then dug into his meal.

Pichu watched how he used the utensils, then emulated his actions. It felt odd, but it was easier to manipulate a good amount of food out of the bowl than with his paws. He brought up a piece of egg and some rice to his mouth and took a bite.

Chew... Chew... Chew... Pause... Chew... Swallow.

He smiled. The egg was incredibly flavorful, and the rice complimented it nicely with its light texture. These weren't Pichu's exact thoughts, but they summarized them nicely.

 _Mmmmmmm.  
_  
He took another bite, then noticed the Professor adding the red liquid to his food. His curiosity piqued, he pointed again and asked, "Pi, pichu?"

Sam looked up again and saw Pichu pointing at the bottle. "Oh, this is ketchup. Try some." He placed the bottle back on the table towards Pichu.

Pichu picked up the bottle and inspected it. It was made of plastic, and it was obvious that it was used often. All he could make of the labels was a picture of a tomato on the front. He opened the lid and sniffed it. It didn't smell like tomatoes. He looked at how much of it was in the Professor's bowl. He thought it might be better if he tried a little bit before he put that much, however.

He lifted the bottle and tipped the opening into his bowl and squeezed a little onto some egg and rice. He took a utensil and picked up the bit of rice and egg with ketchup. Slowly, he brought it to his mouth, almost wary to try it. He opened his mouth and took the bite.

The world fell away as an explosion hit his tongue. His eyes widened as his mind became an expanse of nothingness and everything at once. His every sense was assaulted by a glorious sensation that left him satisfied, but not. He was in utter peace, yet he felt a thirst for more that grew within. All meaning became questionable at this point, and when it was questioned, every conclusion had pointed to a single answer and solution. The end all and be all.

 _Ketchup._

* * *

Professor Oak was a little concerned at Pichu's stillness and silence. He started staring off into the distance after he tried the ketchup, and Oak was starting to worry that he might be having an allergic reaction of some sort.

He was about to reach out when Pichu suddenly squirt the rest of the ketchup bottle into his bowl in a lightning fast motion. Pichu mixed up the bowl's condiment-drenched contents and started shoveling in mouthfuls.

Sam was frozen in confusion for a moment before he started laughing hysterically, mainly out of a deep relief, but with great amusement as well. Pichu was too busy to notice.

* * *

Later, after Pichu was finished feeling sorely disappointed that he had eaten the last of the ketchup, Pichu was given a tour of the entire facility. Oak made sure to get him familiarized with all of the rooms before they went out to the corral to meet the other Pokémon.

They were mainly Pidgeys and Rattatas, with a few tame Spearow here and there, which were rare around these parts. They were very open to the newcomer, all introducing themselves and giving him their warmest welcomes. Some offered an invitation to come play, but Pichu was reminded by Professor Oak that they had work to do and that he would have the chance to play with them later.

Afterwards, Oak led Pichu to an open office room with a desk holding several small books, a strange device with strings attached to small knubs coming out of it, some pencils, and paper. He explained that the books were for beginning readers, and the device read it out loud to let him know what he was reading. He suggested that he should learn reading before he start writing, and that the books were easy to pick up after following the device for a while. He showed him how to use the device, Pichu being slightly anxious when the knubs were put in his ears, and got him started.

"I have other work to do for the day, but you can come to me if you need any help. Feel free to take the audio player and a book to the lobby or guest room if you feel like it, and have fun," he said as he left for his own office.

While Pichu didn't know how to read, he was old enough to learn things on his own, and he was determined enough to learn this thing himself as well, front to back, forwards and backwards. He nodded to himself and hit the arrow symbol that meant 'play'.

 _"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, retold in words of one syllable by Mrs. J. C. Gorham..."  
_

* * *

[A bit fluffy this one is, but now Pichu's gotten started on his training. Expect a few time skips from here on out.

You have no idea how tempting it was to just put "and he spit it out" after he had his first taste of ketchup.

That said, I feel that it might not have been clear just exactly who Pichu is, but I'm hoping this chapter makes it a bit more obvious with the blatant reference. If not, I'll let those readers figure it out as the chapters go on.

Catch what I don't and criticize please.]


	5. Stepping Stones - 1

[I'll try to balance build-up and getting to the payoff as we go along. Hope you enjoy speculative infodumps!]

* * *

Pichu took to studying like a natural scholar, to the point where one might consider him a child prodigy. In reality, it was simple perseverance and a desire to do whatever he needed to in order to challenge the League. Everyday, he would wake in the morning to the sun shining through his window and immediately start training. On the third morning, Professor Oak had observed his "exercises" and had a good laugh about it. When Pichu noticed and questioned him, he offered to write him up a training regimen that would get him better results. After at least an hour of his training, they would have breakfast, which quickly became ketchup with rice and egg on the side for Pichu. Sometimes Oak would add a meat of some sort for variety, of which Pichu was also grateful for.

Pichu would then start studying based on a schedule the Professor set up and the material he had available. The Professor, however, didn't have much of a reference for how fast Pichu could learn, and most of the time Pichu would burn through three hours of work in one. At least once a month, he would get a visit from Chansey, who would also help him with his education. By the end of the first month, Pichu could read at the level of a third grader, and it was only growing from there.

It was a week after the second month that he began speaking human words.

The only real problem he had with them was forming the words with his mouth, as he already understood them beforehand. Both the Professor and Pichu already deduced that all Pokémon already knew and understood human speech, yet for some reason, could not speak.

However, as they worked together to understand each other, the Professor theorized that Pokémon were already speaking human speech. Pokémon speech patterns generally mimic the sentence structures of local language, and from this another idea stemmed that Pokémon eventually evolved various ways to subtly manipulate their calls with emphasis and arrangement that directly translated into human words of the region's language. These subtle changes to calls are universally, or at the very least, regionally, understood by Pokémon in order to communicate with each other, but humans had never caught on to how those subtle adjustments worked. Pokémon might not even be able to understand each other across regions, as their tonal changes mimic different languages.

Pokéspeech wasn't a language at all. It was a _method_.

It was much like sign language, morse code, or braille. They each have their own versions for the respective language that the user is based from, and any user can learn to translate their language between forms instantly. For Pokémon, however, this method of speech was formed naturally rather than manufactured, yet it was still based on human language.

It was then realized just how incredibly precise Pokéspeech was in order to do that. Millions of tiny tonal changes that Pokémon learn to mimic languages, and these Pokémon are easily able to understand and compare them to the local vocabulary. Oak wondered if it was easier or harder for Pokéspeech to mimic either Mandarin or English. The concept was a bit daunting.

Pichu realized that he could indeed confirm this theory, as he began exploring his own meta-linguistics. Those tiny changes were very natural to him, but almost impossibly complicated as well. The meanings of human vocabulary and Pokéspeech began to make a lot more sense than they normally would have while he was reading, and eventually he started to read words out loud in Pokéspeech, just to feel around for those tiny changes more.

Then, on a sunny afternoon in early August, Pichu started to experiment with all the different sounds that he could make with just his tone and voice. Then he started making different, hard and sharp sounds with his teeth and tongue. Then he began playing with the softer and blunter sounds with his lips.

Finally, he looked down at his book, and spotted a very peculiar word on the page. It was the first to catch his eye, and the only one to leap from the page. He opened his mouth and slowly sounded it out.

* * *

The Professor sat back in his lab chair, head lolled back and his eyes locked in a thousand-yard stare. It was for the best at the moment, for if the shock were to fully register all at once, he might have had a heart attack.

The mind had to process the entire scene and analyze it thrice over again before it could continue functioning normally. The scene played out as so:

The Professor was re-revising a request for a grant from the League that would allow him to obtain Pokémon from regions farther away, so he may experiment with his linguistics theory. He was a little nervous about it, as reading it the first time made him feel like his theory was a bit crazy and stupid, but with a double revision to fix it with more precise vocabulary choice, he thought it might garner approval from the global council.

His thoughts were then suddenly interrupted by the sound of a very young child shouting, "Puhfesuh! Puhfesuh!"

Initial confusion brought him to slowly turn to the young voice. It sounded very excited, almost bursting with a pure joy that he'd never heard paralleled.

His eyes crossed yellow, then his mind went blank as he heard, "I did it, Puhfesuh!"

And slowly, his mind came back, as he found himself being smacked in the face.

"Wake up!" a panicked Pichu said as he continued to slap the man. "Pi! Pichupi dun sleep!"

"Pichu!" the Professor exclaimed, trying to get his attention. "I'm fine! Please, stop hitting me!"

Pichu stopped with an "Oh" and hopped back down from the Professor's chest. He looked down, embarrassed. "Sowwy."

Sam looked down in utter amazement at the words, the actual words coming from Pichu's mouth. The full implications had yet to hit him, as the moment still felt surreal. "Pichu," he said carefully, "how... You're speaking!"

Pichu smiled again with that utter joy and nodded ecstatically. "Yeh! I foun' out how ta' do it eaaarlllier!"

His words were still very broken and terribly accented, and he sounded as if he still struggled with them, but they were intelligible! It was human speech! He couldn't stop repeating that thought to himself, Pichu was speaking human speech!

He uttered a word. "How...?"

Pichu's paws exploded into animation as he started spouting his explanation. "I- I was reading in muh room, and- and I taught about wha' you were saying about Pokémun talking, and, so, I started trying all dese weird sounds wid my mouth, an' den I said a word! A word, I said!"

Oak sat up a little more. "What word was it?"

Pichu froze and started to think. "Uhhh..." The word was too important to forget! It was his first! His excitement must have gotten the best of him!

Oh, right!

"Parachuuu-te!" Pichu said with a solemn, satisfied nod.

"Parachute?" Oak replied, confused.

Again, Pichu nodded. "Parachuuute!"

Sam screwed up his face in confusion. "I, uh... Okay." That was all there was to say on that, really.

The Professor didn't get sleep that night. Believe me, he tried, but it was only as he set his head on his pillow that he finally realized just how upside-down his world became. His eyes widened as he uttered a single word.

"Shit."

With that, he jumped out of bed to re-re-revise his grant request.

* * *

More days went by, although both slowly and all too fast at the same time. Both the Professor and Pichu changed their schedules for the better as well as the busy, thanks to Pichu's newfound ability of communication. There was study to do and experiments to perform, all the more so with such a massive breakthrough! The scientific world would be flipped on its head!

And indeed it would be! However, the time being called for only the routine of study and record, and as such routines imply, the novelty of them wore off after awhile. Pichu's speech became a mundane necessity and a fact of life as much as it became another part of Professor Oak's job. They were happy to get paid for it, though.

Later that August, the Professor suddenly realized something. It was a strange realization, as it wasn't really something he would feel concerned about as a Professor, but as a Professor and caretaker of Pokémon, it made sense.

He decided that the thought was one worth following, however, as it would be good for Pichu.

After the Professor had made food that he packed into separate sacks and gathered a few other supplies, he called Pichu down from his early noon study. "Pichu! I'd like you to come down, please!"

Pichu heard his call and appeared at the stairs promptly. "Yeah, Pruhfesuh?"

His speech got better as he spoke as well, though they had proven that his accent would be there to stay unless he actively tried to adjust it. The accent greatly emphasized open vowels and consonants involving the lips while softening consonants involving the teeth and tongue. As one of the first Pokémon to be studied speaking human tongue, his accent was unique. It was possibly even unique to his kind too, as other Pokémon would have to adjust from completely different calls.

The Professor couldn't help the strange tangent of thought, however interesting, but brought himself out of it to tell Pichu, "I think we've both been cramped in this laboratory for quite a while now, don't you think? September will be here soon, and we won't have many sunny days when fall comes around." He gestured to a window, out at the beautifully clear weather.

Pichu followed his gesture to gaze out the window, indeed seeing a great scenery of nature that teemed throughout the small valley that nested the small town of Pallet. It tempted him to go out there very much. He nodded.

Sam held up the sack lunches he was holding. "I was thinking that we could go for a short stroll to the park for lunch. I remember seeing a play structure that you could play on, or train on, which ever you prefer," he said with a shrug.

Very often, Pichu's thoughts would stray to what the town was like outside of his window, but had never asked as he would throw himself back into his work in his dedication to his goals. He supposed, though, that if the Professor wanted to get some fresh air and bring him along, then he'd be fine with it. "Alright!" He smiled and hopped down the stairs to run to the front entrance.

Professor Oak laughed.

* * *

The afternoon sun wasn't unpleasant during this time of the season, and nature stood proud in all of its vibrant colors. Gardens all around flourished to show that their caretakers knew how to care for them. Flowers bloomed and fruits were on the aged end of ripening, ready to be picked. The grass in town was always mowed fine to discourage wild Pokémon from wandering into town, but it was still soft enough for the captured and domesticated, and even bare-foot humans, to enjoy a nice run through. The road below Pichu's feet was a stretch of worn dirt and dust, carved out into the ground through years, probably decades or more, of use. It seemed like more people used these kinds of roads for walking than for using the car machines, Pichu would think, for it, too, was soft like grass, yet different.

They passed by few houses, as they hadn't quite reached town yet. The Professor lived just outside of it, as his corral needed the acreage and he appreciated the solitude, but it wasn't too far that he needed to drive for anything less than groceries. Sometimes he would walk into town to preemptively visit his family, or even his former apprentice. As he hadn't walked into town for quite some while, it brought back more than a few memories for him.

Soon enough, the houses and their property lines began to form closer to each other as they reached the neighborhoods that skirted town. Pichu started seeing other people outside enjoying the sunshine themselves and participating in other Summer-time activities. Children played with water spurting from devices connected to hoses, while their parents tended to their small farms and gardens and sipped cool drinks from glasses filled with ice. Pichu had seen these picturesque scenes of Summer from some of his more image-oriented books, but seeing them in reality felt so... unreal! He smiled at the families and waved as he passed. Professor Oak did as well, seeing Pichu's friendliness. Pichu felt a warmth within him when they waved back, and kept waving at people as he passed, trying to get them to respond.

This town... These humans... They were so hospitable compared to his old group and the wild, at least, what he remembered of it. The world he lived in seemed so different now, and that one so distant. It was hard to believe that he ever lived that way. Smiles and waves were never things you came across out there, unless it was from family.

He swallowed, but kept the smile on his face. It was the past now, and he wouldn't let it get in the way of the present or the future. There wasn't a place for that at the moment.

They were passing a shop or two as foot traffic started to get heavier. Pichu began waving the other passersby as they walked past, and they were just as friendly as the families.

As they passed one shop in particular, both of them heard a gruff voice from behind shouting, "Hey, Professor!"

They turned around to find a rather well-built man with full, dark facial hair heading towards them. The Professor seemed to recognize him. "Ah! Jordi! Have you gotten my shipment of Stantler fertilizer yet? I hope to keep my hydrangeas autonomous for another few years with that."

The man known as Jordi nodded. "Yeah, actually. I saw you headin' past my shop when I was about ta call ya." He noticed Pichu beside him and bent down to meet his level. "And who's dis little guy, 'ey? New resident for your corral?"

Pichu rubbed his arm nervously under the man's gaze. He looked up at the Professor for guidance, who simply nodded, then turned back to the man. He breathed, smiled, and said, "Hi, I'm Pichu, and da Pruhfessuh is teacheen me all about hyoomans and hyooman stuff."

Jordi blinked several times for several moments. Pichu was unable to discern the man's thoughts from his stare, but was again nervous about his reaction. Then the man burst into laughter, a heavy bellowing of guffaws that had him standing back up to clench his gut. It went on for at least fifteen full seconds before he was intelligible enough to say, "W-well, either the Professor is a pretty good teacher, or he became a master ventriloquist in a month!" He looked to the Professor and quipped, "Can ya teach me how ta do tha' then?" And he dissolved back into laughter.

Pichu didn't really get what was so funny, but neither did Professor Oak, who only laughed to be polite. "I actually only had to theorize it. Pichu here learned how to speak on his own from listening and reading some of my work."

Jordi's laughter halted, but his smile didn't leave. He looked down at Pichu with a newfound wonder in his eyes. "Really, now?" He bent back down again. "That's real incredible, y'know that?"

The young Pokémon nodded with pride. "Yeah, I t'ink it's pretty cool."

The merchant chuckled. "That it is, Pichu. "Pretty cool," indeed. What do you plan on doing with that ability?"

Pichu posed in a dramatic fashion. "I'm 'onna challenge da Pokémun League an' win! I'll be de only Pokémun Champion who's an a'tual Pokémun!"

Jordi's sides split once more. " _What_ have you been teachin' him, Professor?"

* * *

The Professor didn't get his fertilizer, as he didn't have his car to carry it home in, but he ensured Jordi that he would be back to pick it up later. They didn't have many more similar encounters afterwards, and at last they reached the park and playground near the center of town. Pichu saw human adults, children, and Pokémon playing everywhere, be it climbing on the play structure, running through the meadow, or even the few playing chess at the picnic tables. The Professor observed Pichu's wide-eyed curiosity and said, "Go on, Pichu. Make new friends. I'll find us a table for when you're ready to eat."

Pichu looked up at the Professor and smiled. "T'anks, Pruhfessuh!"

He ran a few feet towards the play structure...

Pichu stopped himself, causing Sam a bit of concern. The youngling looked back to see him still standing there, now looking worried. He glanced away in heavy thought, almost anxious...

Caution to the wind, he sprinted back to Oak at a speed impressive for even a Pokémon his size, and tackled his leg in a hug.

Undoubtedly, Sam was surprised at the sudden affection. Pichu looked back up at the Professor, face scrunched in effort. "Thhhhaaank you, Mister Oak."

There was a weight of difference between this gesture and his other off-hand gratitude. This one was more than a thanks for the day at the park. Both of them knew that.

The Professor paused for a moment, slightly caught off guard, then smiled. "Of course, Pichu." He knelt down and ruffled the yellow fur on top of his head. "Now go and play."

Pichu nodded and did so.

* * *

On one end of the play structure was a slide of solid plastic. It wasn't a very tall slide, acting as only an exit to the structure. It was a bland tan color of no significance, and was covered in the skid marks of many childrens' shoes. On particularly sunny days, pleasant temperature or otherwise, the slide would absorb the sun's heat and become nearly unbearable to the touch. No reasonable child would think of using it on such a day like this.

Unfortunately, two certain eight-year-old boys weren't known for acting reasonable when seen together, and both of them were sitting at opposite ends of the slide, one at the top lip and one at the bottom foot, facing each other. Their eyes were locked in a fierce fire of unmistakeable rivalry as neither budged from their scalding hot positions. Both of them sat crisscross'ed-applesauce, and wore only shorts and shirt; no shoes or socks. They risked red skin and blisters moment after moment, waiting for the other to give up their stance or relinquish their holds on their sanity. Neither budged an inch.

Until, one of them, the one at the top, had a nasty idea. It was a gross, disgusting, and evil idea. He began to swish his mouth around, building up the saliva forming and pooling underneath his tongue.

The boy at the bottom end noticed this with a deep suspicion. "What are you doing?" He asked.

The boy at the top only grunted. Then, slowly, as the boy at the bottom watched in horrid fascination, the boy up top let out a stream of drool onto the slide, seeing it slowly crawl downwards with the assistance of gravity and inertia.

The boy at the bottom could only stare in utter horror as the stream neared, as he was still unwilling to break from his position, stubborn as he was. It crept nearer and nearer with every second, the impending drool only picking up speed with the descending slope.

Closer and closer, it drew, its stench of breath from an unbrushed mouth only growing stronger as it rolled.

It reached the final stretch, pouring its speed into hitting the bottom before it could-

The heat of the slide dissipated the stream before it hit the boy.

Said boy burst into laughter. "You couldn't even cheat right this time, Gary! This proves that- Ach!" The boy was interrupted by a loogie to the face, causing him to fall backwards off of the slide.

"Ha! Gotcha, Ash!" Gary exclaimed as he jumped down to the ground from the top of the slide. " _That_ proves that Hitmonchan is the best fighter evolution!"

The boy named Ash rolled himself up and wiped the loogie from his face. "That's cheating, again! Hitmonlee is still better 'cuz you keep doing that!" He stared Gary down. "Another rematch! No cheating!"

Gary shook his head smugly with his nose turned up and his arms crossed. "Oh, Ashy-boy, when will ya learn? Hitmonchan is the best because I always _beat you_. When has that ever been different?"

Ash stood up and got in his face. "All the time! You always cheat! I bet if we did something without you cheating for once, then I would actually win!"

"Ha!" Gary laughed. "As if! I bet you'd lose twice over!"

"Are you admitting that you did cheat, then?"

"Of course not, but you'd still lose badly!"

"Hello? Can you guys stop fighting, please?" Asked a new voice that piped up.

Both boys stopped in confusion. "We were fighting?" Both questioned. They turned in the direction of the voice, only to find a Pichu standing there, staring up at them.

Ash bent down to the Pichu's level. "Did... Did you just talk?"

"Of course, he didn't!" "O' course, I did!" Gary and the Pichu exclaimed at the same time.

The boys' eyes widened. A talking Pichu! Like one from a bedtime story from when they were kids! Ash was the first to say it out loud. "Y-you're a talking Pichu!"

The Pichu smiled in pride. "Yeah! I learned how ta do it m'self! Cool, huh?"

Gary attempted to wave it off as nothing. "Pshh, so? Anyone can learn how to talk. I do it all the time! Like now, for example."

Ash ignored Gary's remark. "That is so cool! How did you learn?"

Pichu smiled wider. "I listened to de Prooofessor. He says he learned a lot from me learning."

That caught Gary's attention again. "Wait, Gramps taught you?"

"Professor Oak?" Ash asked.

Pichu nodded. "Yeah, he's super smart an' stuff. He helped me when I said I wan'ed ta be de first Pokémon to win de League."

That statement resonated within both of the boys.

Before any of them could ask, an older voice called from across the playground. "Pichu, lunch is ready when you are!" yelled Professor Oak.

Pichu's stomach growled at the mention of food, and he said, "I'm 'onna eat now. See ya guys later."

As he turned around to leave, Gary spoke up. "Wait..."

Pichu turned back around expectantly.

Gary tried to think of how to ask without seeming uncool in anyway when Ash beat him to the punch. "Can we join you?"

Pichu nodded without hesitation. "Okay! Da more, da... um, mer...rier? Yeah, merrier!"

Together, all three headed to the picnic table for a delicious lunch.

* * *

[There's your hearty meal, the bill is your critique. I tried to fit in as much natural build up as I could to balance avoiding having to skip so much and putting out the chapter. I only need to add the most important part now (evolution, expect feels, hopefully), then the journey finally begins.

I apologize to those who really want to get it started already, but sometimes an epic's grandeur is in including the smallest details and making them important.

Thanks for all of your patience.]


End file.
